Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has asked a state court to force Meta Platforms to immediately remove users under 14 from Facebook and Instagram and impose strict limits on teen accounts, including a two-hour daily cap and disabling autoplay. Florida bypassed a historic $18 billion multi-state settlement, calling it a "slap on the wrist." Meta has dismissed the legal action as meritless, arguing Florida should focus on other platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
Florida's injunction motion and Meta's response
- ▪Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a motion for a temporary injunction in Pasco County court on October 7, 2026, seeking to force Meta Platforms to immediately implement youth safety changes on Facebook and Instagram.
- ▪A Meta Platforms spokesperson stated that Florida's Attorney General should focus taxpayer resources on getting YouTube and TikTok to protect teens, calling Florida's preliminary injunction request meritless.
Proposed limits on teen access
- ▪Florida's injunction request asks the court to compel Meta Platforms to identify and remove all users under the age of 14 in Florida from Facebook and Instagram.
- ▪Florida's requested terms include a default quiet mode blocking app access from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays during the school year.
- ▪Florida's proposed injunction seeks to limit teenagers in Florida to two hours of daily screen time across all Meta Platforms apps and a combined limit of 60 hours per month.
Proposed restrictions on app features
- ▪Florida's requested court order would require Meta Platforms to disable features like autoplay and infinite scroll by default for teenage users in Florida.
- ▪Florida's proposed injunction would block teenagers' access to messaging after their daily time limits are reached and prohibit Meta Platforms from showing them advertisements.
Florida's allegations of platform addictiveness
- ▪Florida's court filing cites internal Meta Platforms chat logs where employees compared Instagram to a narcotic, with one worker writing "IG is a drug" and another describing the company as "basically pushers."
- ▪Florida's lawsuit under the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act accuses Meta Platforms of knowingly engineering its platforms to be addictive for young users and misleading consumers about safety.
Reactions to the multi-state settlement
- ▪Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opted out of a multi-state settlement reached in August 2026, in which Meta Platforms agreed to pay up to $18 billion to 48 other states and Washington, D.C.
- ▪Meta Platforms denied wrongdoing in agreeing to the multi-state settlement, stating that the company works hard to keep teenagers safe on its platforms.
- ▪Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier characterized the multi-state settlement with Meta Platforms as a "mere slap on the wrist" that would be cynically viewed as the cost of doing business.
Debatable claims
- ▪Courts should mandate the removal of addictive social media features for teens
- ▪State-mandated screen time limits for teens do more harm than good
- ▪Florida's independent lawsuit against Meta is a waste of taxpayer resources
- ▪Banning children under 14 from social media platforms is justified
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